Duck Dynasty is more popular in the south and “Republicans were about 50 percent more likely to tune in to the season premiere than Democrats, and Republicans who always vote in statewide elections were almost twice as likely to tune in than were Democrats.” That’s perhaps very obvious, but the density of its popularity in the south and its unpopularity elsewhere is somewhat surprising to me, since people often choose to watch reality shows about people who live very different lives from themselves.

Complex lists The 25 worst people in reality TV history. I might quibble with the rankings, and I’m sure they’ve left people out, but it’s hard to disagree with much of this list–though I’ll stand up for my friend Coach, who changed significantly and redeemed himself over his three seasons.

The Rachel Zoe Project is ending because Rachel says “it’s time to probably move on”; she also said that, initially, the series “was meant to be a show solely based on fashion and designers and all of that, and clearly it wasn’t. I was like, “Oh, I don’t want my personal life on television.” Earlier, Bravo denied that the show was on the verge of cancellation.

A new documentary promises to reveal the story of Face Off season three cast member Joe Castro, who had a meltdown on the first episode. The press release announcing this is so horrendously written I first thought it was a joke. Sample sentence: “FRANKEN // FAKE will tell the story of special effects artist, Joe Castro, who began to see a series of events from producer’s that led him to decide that he was not part of a true competition.” Here’s another sentence from the actual press release that caused my brain to hurt: “The incident took place on May 5, 2012 but is not being told by documentary Producer and veteran reality television editor, Steven Escobar now feels the truth should be told.”

The Real Housewives of Orange County‘s Vicki Gunvalson’s boyfriend Brooks Ayers “has filed a slander and defamation lawsuit against Gunvalson’s ex-business partner, who he claims went public with false allegations that he’d uncovered evidence detailing how Ayers planned to have him killed,” Radar reports.

HBO’s always-stellar Hard Knocks showed footage on this week’s episode of something that made headlines: Cincinnati Bengal James Harrison telling a Cincinnati Enquirer reporter that NFL Films’ cameras shouldn’t be filming: “I don’t feel they deserve to be here. They did nothing to be here, other than want to be here. They didn’t put no blood, sweat and tears into none of this. All these men in here, they did that. They (the cameras) did nothing. No one deserves to see this, to come inside of this unless you’re a part of this. That’s why.” In the first episode, he was shown jumping into a random car to escape the cameras; this week, he apparently allowed them to film him naked and getting acupuncture.

An October Frontline documentary called League of Denial: The NFL’s Concussion Crisis had been a 15-month joint project of PBS and ESPN, but now ESPN is out because of pressure from the NFL, according to the New York Times. ESPN says they backed out because they wouldn’t have editorial control; a spokesperson for the NFL said, “We deny that we pressured them.” Three weeks ago, PBS and ESPN executives appeared together at a Television Critics Association press conference and ESPN had lots of praise for PBS. Here’s the trailer:

about the writer

Andy Dehnart is a journalist who has covered reality television for more than 15 years and created reality blurred in 2000. A member of the Television Critics Association, his writing and criticism about television, culture, and media has appeared on NPR and in Playboy, Buzzfeed, and many other publications. Andy, 37, also directs the journalism program at Stetson University in Florida, where he teaches creative nonfiction and journalism. He has an M.F.A. in nonfiction writing and literature from Bennington College. More about reality blurred and Andy.

follow reality blurred

about this publication

reality blurred exists to cover television's most under-appreciated genre, reality TV, with original reporting, analysis, criticism, and curated information. It's edited by Andy Dehnart.
reality blurred is regularly updated with reality TV news; behind-the-scenes reports; interviews with reality TV show cast members and producers; and recaps and reviews of reality TV shows including Survivor, Big Brother, The Amazing Race, The Bachelor, Project Runway, The Voice, Top Chef, and many more.
Learn more about the site.